The Detroit Lions are busy retooling their roster in the second wave of free agency, and their early focus has been on bolstering a secondary that struggled down the stretch.
Depth was an issue late in 2024 at cornerback, and injuries forced several players down the roster into unexpected roles. One of those players was Kindle Vildor, who received plenty of vitriol from Lions fans considering his mistakes and inconsistent play.
Vildor has now moved on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency, and the Lions have replaced him with a fresh face. Rock Ya-Sin, a former second-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2019 and most recently of the San Francisco 49ers, was signed on Thursday.
In addition to depth, Ya-Sin brings nearly identical athletic traits to those of Vildor. In terms of production, he has been better in his career than Vildor statistically in nearly every category. As Brian Michael pointed out on social media, the tale of the tape shows Ya-Sin's advantages.
Rock Ya-Sin to the #Lions equal replacement to Vildor. Depth piece!#AllGrit #OnePride #SuperBowlLX pic.twitter.com/cKLdhFCvNy
— Mr. Brian Michael (@MrBrianMichael) March 20, 2025
This isn't to suggest that Ya-Sin is going to be a difference maker for the Lions in 2025, but rather to show that he has potential to play a more useful role than others have. In the last few seasons, there's been a notable drop off when the Lions have to turn to cornerbacks further down their depth chart. Perhaps that won't be as much the case when Ya-Sin sees the field.
Rock Ya-Sin may need to apologize to Amon-Ra St. Brown for funny 2023 run-in
Having played in the AFC for his first five years in the league, Ya-Sin didn't have much experience going up against the Lions. A notable exception came in 2023 when Ya-Sin played for the Baltimore Ravens, who tangled with Detroit in a Week 8 matchup.
The Ravens ended up dominating the Lions 38-6 in their most lopsided loss of the year, and Ya-Sin delivered a viral moment when he flipped wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown while he was off balance amid a route. It was a rare example of St. Brown being shown up physically on the football field.
Now, Ya-Sin will have to see St. Brown regularly during drills, and it will be interesting to watch how the pair does head-to-head. Detroit's wideout is never shy of desiring good competition to strengthen his own game, so he will certainly appreciate the physicality that Ya-Sin brings to the cornerback room.
Even such, it will be fascinating to hear St. Brown's take on his prior encounter with Ya-Sin. The newcomer may have to quickly make some playful locker room amends for the prior confrontation.
